“When it comes to companies and doing business in the
region, Dubai is still the preferred option because people want
to live here and the infrastructure is great. People are
demanding about 20 percent to 30 percent more money to live in
Abu Dhabi and Qatar than in Dubai because the cost of living in
those areas is higher than in Dubai. Rents in Dubai have fallen
significantly, so it’s benefiting from that immensely.”

“As a business, we saw hiring increase by 35 percent in
2011 compared with 2010, and the majority of our recruitment in
the U.A.E. was in Dubai. What we saw in the past two to three
years is that a number of companies have had hiring freezes, so
when someone left they generally wouldn’t find a replacement. In
2011, we saw hiring starting to pick up and companies returning
to the market and rehire.”

On industries in the U.A.E. that boosted hiring in 2011:

“The industries we saw the most hiring in are fast-moving
consumer goods, retail and construction. We are seeing that
those sectors have quite a solid recovery moving into 2011 and
in 2012.”

On expatriates in Bahrain looking for work elsewhere:

“There has been uplift in expatriates living in Bahrain
who are keen to move to other countries in the Gulf Cooperation
Council.”

On opening an office in Qatar:

“We’re about to open up an operation in Qatar in the next
two months, but it depends on the licensing. From the clients
we’ve spoken to, they’re going to ramp up their recruitment in
2013 to help them cope with the big infrastructure projects.
Client demand has been for people specialized in legal, finance
and accounting, and risk and compliance, especially because of
all the big infrastructure projects in the works. The hiring is
weighted more toward local Qatari firms.”